I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hydraulic connection assembly with a pressure discharge control, which is positionable between an onboard hydraulic circuit of an engineering vehicle and removable hydraulic equipment.
II. Description of the Related Art
Engineering vehicles with onboard hydraulic circuits (excavators, front loaders, etc.) usually have the ability of connecting the circuit itself to removable hydraulic equipment (for instance, hammers, miller cutter, etc.) by means of the connection of flexible hoses and rapid couplings.
In some vehicles, the hydraulic system may remain in residual pressure when the equipment is disconnected.
It is therefore required to firstly connect or disconnect the equipment, discharge the pressure of the onboard hydraulic system, by means of manoeuvres to be performed on the controls of the engineering vehicle.
That is, it is required to leave the post near the equipment, enter the control post of the engineering vehicle and discharge the pressure; then the equipment is approached and its connection or disconnection is performed by means of manual rapid coupling.
Alternatively, the operation may be performed by two people, thus increasing the costs of the operation.
Without these operations, the connection or disconnection of the hydraulic equipment is impossible or dangerous.
WO-A-2004/070241 describes a hydraulic assembly, positionable between the engineering vehicle and the removable equipment. Such a hydraulic assembly has a one-piece body including hydraulic linkages to pressure lines of the hydraulic circuit of the vehicle and to corresponding feeding inputs for removable equipment, a hydraulic linkage to a draining line, normally closed discharge valves positioned between the linkages to pressure lines and the linkage to a draining line and a control for the pressure discharge which is operable so as to cause the opening of one and/or the other of the normally closed valves for the connection of the above the pressure lines to the draining line for the discharge of the pressure existing in the hydraulic circuit of the vehicle.
The two valves are ball valves and the pressure discharge control consists of a knob rotatable around its longitudinal axis in order to allow one or more cam surfaces of a rod thereof to act on the control ball of one and/or the other of the above the valves to cause the opening thereof.